PLN, Indonesia’s national electricity utility, has selected Black & Veatch to build the 315 MW Lontar coal-fired power extension project with its consortium partners Sumitomo Corp. and PT Satyamitra Surya Perkasa (SSP).

“The consortium will safely construct a world-class power plant within the schedule and budget,” said Mark McDermott, Vice President and Project Director, Black & Veatch. “As the EPC technical leader, we will share and transfer critical knowledge to our local professionals and partners, PT SSP and PLN.”

As part of the project, Black & Veatch will implement a “constructability” programme. “Constructability is an advanced project management technique applied in the proposal, engineering and procurement stage, as well as throughout the build process to return a more predictable and better construction timeline,” the company explained. “It provides a construction driven process and mind-set to the entire project process from conceptual engineering, through fabrication and shipping. All work is planned with construction in mind.”

The constructability approach has been successfully used in Indonesia with PT SSP for a number of years, including during the delivery of the coal-fired Tanjung Jati B Units 3 and 4 ahead of schedule in 2012. This project added 1320 MW to the Java-Bali electricity grid and saw Black & Veatch team up not only with PT SSP but also Sumitomo.

“Constructability puts a special focus on construction in areas often removed from what’s happening on the ground, like the engineering and design process. The result is a much smoother experience for the people on site: reducing errors, delays and cost overruns,” said Jim Schnieders, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Power EPC, Asia based in Jakarta.

According to the company, constructability will be particularly important at Lontar as the new plant is to be built alongside the existing and fully operational units, calling for careful planning.

The Lontar expansion project will allow PLN to boost electricity supplies to Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, ahead of developing greenfield sites. It will use supercritical coal-fired technology to optimise efficiency and output. In addition to leading the project, Black & Veatch will provide equipment supply and construction management and commissioning. Sumitomo will be responsible for boiler and steam turbine supply, while PT SSP will be responsible for the erection of the facility.